Chancellor (education)

==Principal==
The principal is the chief executive and the [[provost (education)|chief academic officer]] of a university or college in certain parts of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]].

A "director" is the chief executive officer of a university or other educational institution. Equivalent names in different countries are [[Vice-Chancellor|vice-chancellor]] (many [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries), chancellor (United States), principal (Scotland and Canada), and [[university president]].

===United Kingdom===
{{See also|Ancient university governance in Scotland}}
In Scotland, the principal is appointed by the [[university court]] or governing body of the university and will be chairman or president of the body of academics. In the case of the [[ancient universities of Scotland]], the principal is president of the [[academic senate]]. The principal also holds the title of vice-chancellor, but their powers with regard to this position extend only to the awarding of degrees, as both the vice-chancellor and chancellor are titular posts.

===Canada===
[[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] and [[McGill University]] in Canada have principals instead of [[university president|presidents]] as a result of their Scottish origins. In addition, the [[Royal Military College of Canada]] also has a principal.

===South Africa===
{{Further|List of South African university chancellors and vice-chancellors|List of Vice-Chancellors and Chancellors of the University of Pretoria|Chancellor of the University of Cape Town|Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town}}
In South Africa, the [[Higher Education Act 101 of 1997]] defines the principal as "the chief executive and accounting officer of a public higher education institution."<ref name='che'>{{cite web|url=http://www.che.ac.za/documents/d000004/ |title=Higher Education Act 101 of 1997 |access-date=2010-07-04 |date=4 July 2010 }}</ref> The definition allows for the alternative nomenclatures of vice-chancellor and a rector, and these terms are in widespread use (the term ''vice-chancellor'' is more common in English-medium universities, whilst the term ''rector'' tends to be used in [[Afrikaans|Afrikaans-medium]] universities). The exact name in a particular university will be defined by the [[Higher Education Act 101 of 1997|Institutional Statute]]. The same act defines the chancellor as the titular head of an institution.